"A View From The Bridge" examining tension and conflict within the play.

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The two scenes that I have chosen for my coursework, which I think are exciting and interesting are:

1) End of act one                           Pg 38-42

2) End of play                                Pg 59-64

In my essay on "A View From The Bridge" I will be examining tension and conflict within the play. Most of the tension and conflict arises from the fact that Marco and Rodolfo are illegal immigrants. During the 1930's immigration to the U.S.A was at an all time high. Over a million Sicilians had already moved to the U.S.A. and there were more moving over. Many Sicilians dreamed of a better life in America with a good paid job and enough money to support their family. They hoped of wealth and security that their home country could not guarantee. The reality of the situation was that when they arrived many of them were given jobs on the docks as dockworkers or longshoremen. The waterfront was populated by people who were poorly paid, exploited by their bosses and in many cases were only recent immigrants. The play is set in Red Hook, "the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge…the gullet of New York".

I have chosen the end of act one and the end of the play for scenes, which I think best explore tension and conflict in the play. This is because the main theme of the play, family loyalty, is shown in great effect in these scenes. There is great tension between the family and especially between Eddie and Marco in these two scenes. In the first scene I have chosen we see this when Eddie begins to show signs of jealousy towards Rodolfo.The end of the play shows a great deal of tension between the family as it is torn apart. Feelings of pride and honour add to the depth of the scene.

In the first scene I have chosen reveals a lot about the following characters, Eddie, Beatrice, Catherine, Marco and Rodolfo. At the bottom of page 38 we see that Eddie can get angry very quickly.

"(holding back a voice of anger)Yeah, but he don't have to go lookin' for it, Beatrice. If he's here to work, then he should work".

This quotation is an example of Eddie's feeling of jealousy towards Rodolfo and his relationship with Catherine. Eddie is trying to disguise the fact that he is jealous when he turns to Marco,

"But I understood, Marco, that you was both comin' to make a livin' for you family. You understand me, don't you, Marco?"

          This scene tells us that Beatrice is supportive of the relationship between Catherine and Rodolfo and tries to overrule Eddie in the house. We can see this when Rodolfo declines the offer to dance from Catherine because he sees Eddie stiffen up when he hears this, she prompts him to dance,

Join now!

" Go ahead, dance, Rodolfo."

Also when Rodolfo boxes with Eddie she supports and compliments Rodolfo's ability,

"He's very good".

          In this scene we see how Catherine is trying to make Eddie change his mind about Rodolfo,

"They get some high pay, them guys. The head chefs in all the big hotels are men. You read about them."

In this scene she seems a little nervous around Eddie. Also when she sees Eddie and Rodolfo boxing she is deeply alarmed.

          This scene tells us that Rodolfo is ...

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